Blade assembly and counterweight mechanism for a high-speed food slicing apparatus, and methods associated with the same

ABSTRACT

A food slicing system includes a hub fixedly secured to a drive shaft and configured to rotate with the drive shaft. The hub has a central pilot projection coaxial with the drive shaft, and flat, blade contacting surface surrounding the pilot projection. A counterweight is eccentrically mounted to the hub and rotatable between a first position and an second position relative to the hub. Wherein when the counterweight is in a first position, the counterweight is in axial alignment with pilot projection, and permits the blade to be attached to or removed from the hub via movement of the blade in the axial direction. When the counterweight is in the second position, the counterweight is eccentric to the pilot projection and is offset from the axis of rotation, to provide a predetermined amount of weight offset from the axis of rotation to counterbalance the weight of the blade.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 63/271,459, filed on Oct. 25, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to an apparatus for slicing food products using a rotating blade, such as an involute blade, which is mounted on a hub and requires counterbalancing.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure generally relates to an apparatus for slicing food products using a rotating blade, such as an involute blade. Blades of slicing machines are heavy, extremely sharp and dangerous to handle without proper safety practices. Slicing blades are mounted to and fixedly attached to a mounting assembly, such as a hub. Due to the geometry of involute blades, one side is heavier than the other. Accordingly, such blades must be balanced to permit high-speed rotation. In known equipment, a counterweight is added directly to the blade. In other equipment, the counterweight is added to the mounting assembly and requires removal and adjustment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The organization and manner of the structure and operation of the disclosed embodiments, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, wherein like reference numerals identify like elements in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a food product slicing machine generally, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the food product slicing machine of FIG. 1 , particularly showing the slicing blade and mount, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the food product slicing machine of FIG. 1 , particularly showing the blade mount, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the food product slicing machine of FIG. 1 , particularly showing a driven side of the blade mount, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the blade of the food product slicing machine of FIG. 1 , according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the blade and hub, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the hub with the counterweight in the first position, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the hub with the counterweight in the temporary position, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the hub and mounted blade, with the counterweight in the second position, according to one embodiment.

SUMMARY

A food slicing system for a high-speed food slicing machine includes an involute blade configured for rotation about a rotational axis, and having a central mounting aperture, a motor operatively coupled to a slicing assembly frame an configured to rotate a drive shaft, and a hub fixedly secured to a distal end of the drive shaft and configured to rotate with the drive shaft. The hub has a central pilot projection coaxial with the drive shaft, and a flat, blade contacting surface surrounding the pilot projection, where the pilot projection is configured to be received through the mounting aperture of the blade, to center the blade on the hub. A counterweight mounted to the hub is rotatable between a first position and an second position relative to the hub. When the counterweight is in the first position, the counterweight is in axial alignment with pilot projection, and permits the blade to be attached to or removed from the hub via movement of the blade in the axial direction and in a plane substantially parallel to a plane of the blade contacting surface. When the counterweight is in the second position, the counterweight is eccentric to the pilot projection and is offset from the axis of rotation, to provide a predetermined amount of weight offset from the axis of rotation to counterbalance the weight of the blade.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the disclosure may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail, a specific embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the disclosure, and is not intended to limit the disclosure to that as illustrated and described herein. Therefore, unless otherwise noted, features disclosed herein may be combined together to form additional combinations that were not otherwise shown for purposes of brevity. It will be further appreciated that in some embodiments, one or more elements illustrated by way of example in a drawing(s) may be eliminated and/or substituted with alternative elements within the scope of the disclosure.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-6 , a food product slicing apparatus 20 is used to slice food products into slices. The food products may include a wide variety of edible materials including, but not limited to meat, such as pork bellies, beef, chicken, fish, etc., and cheese.

The food product slicing apparatus 20 includes a main frame 22, a load assembly 24 mounted on the main frame 22, a feed assembly 26 mounted on the main frame 22 downstream of the load assembly 24, a slicing assembly 28 mounted on the main frame 22 downstream of the feed assembly 26, and an output assembly 30 mounted on the main frame 22 downstream of the slicing assembly 28. The food product slicing apparatus 20 further includes a control system 32 configured to control operation of the components of the food product slicing apparatus 20.

The main frame 22 supports the load assembly 24, the feed assembly 26, the slicing assembly 28, and the output assembly 30 on a ground surface, and includes various mechanisms and power systems for powering the food product slicing apparatus 20. The load assembly 24 and the feed assembly 26 are configured to support and handle the food products and to move the food products to the slicing assembly 28. The slicing assembly 28 is configured to slice the food products into individual slices. The sliced food product is supported on the output assembly 30, which may be a conveyor, in stacks or in shingles and is moved away from the slicing assembly 28. The control system 32 includes all the necessary hardware and software to perform all of the operations and functions of the food product slicing apparatus 20. The control system 32 may be mounted on the main frame 22 or may be remote from the main frame 22.

The slicing assembly 28 includes a shear bar 340, a food product gripping assembly (not shown) on the shear bar 340 (FIG. 3 ) that cooperates with the feed roller 172 (FIG. 3 ) on the feed assembly 26, a slicing blade 344 for cutting the food products into slices, and a blade retract and driving system 346 (FIG. 4 ) for mounting the slicing blade 344 on the main frame 22 and rotating the slicing blade 344. The shear bar 340 and the food product gripping assembly 342 are downstream of the drive assembly 106. The slicing blade 344 is downstream of the shear bar 340. The feed roller 172 and the food product gripping assembly 342 grip the food products as the food products are being sliced by the slicing blade 344.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-9 , a blade counterweight mechanism 2410 is described. The blade 344, which is preferably an involute blade, may be mounted on a hub 3110. The hub 3110, in turn, is driven by a motor 404 operatively coupled to the slicing assembly frame 4010. The motor 404 may directly drive a shaft 4020 of the hub 3110, or may indirectly drive the shaft 4020 of the hub by a belt 408 and/or pulley 396 arrangement, according to a preferred embodiment.

The hub 3110 is fixedly secured to a distal end of the drive shaft 4020 and configured to rotate with the drive shaft 4020. The hub 3110 includes a central pilot projection 3120, which is coaxial with the drive shaft 4020. The pilot projection 3120 may be a separate disk-like component fastened to the hub 3110 with a plurality of bolts 5010, or may be integrally formed with the hub 3110. The pilot projection 3120 may be elevated above the surface of the hub 3110, which hub surface forms a flat, blade contacting surface 3030, that surrounds the pilot projection 3120.

The pilot projection 3120 is configured to be received through the mounting aperture 2020 of the blade 344 so as to center the blade on the hub 3110. The pilot projection 3120 projects above a surface of the hub 3110 by a distance less than or equal to a thickness of the blade 344 as measured at the mounting aperture of the blade 2020.

As best shown in FIG. 6 , the blade counterweight mechanism 2410 further includes a rotatable weight or counterweight 414 eccentrically mounted to the pilot projection 3120 by a bolt or pivot pin 416 and which extends through a portion of the rotatable weight 414. An inner race of a bearing 418 is affixed to the pivot pin 416 and an outer race of the bearing 418 is affixed to the rotatable weight 414. The rotatable weight 414 can rotate relative to the hub 3110 about the pivot pin 416 via the bearing 418.

The rotatable counterweight 414 may be rotated between a first position 7010) and a second position 9010. When the counterweight 414 is in the first position 7010, the counterweight 414 is in axial alignment with pilot projection 3120. In this position, the blade 344 may be attached to or removed from the hub 3120 via movement of the blade 344 in the axial direction and in a plane parallel to a plane of the blade contacting surface 3030. Essentially, the blade 344 may be removed from the hub 3110 or a new blade may be attached to the hub via axial movement of the blade 344, while maintaining the blade in the same plane as the surface of the hub 3030. This may be performed for blade replacement or servicing.

While the counterweight 414 is in the first position 710, in operation, a new blade is then affixed to the hub 3110. Once the blade aperture 2020 of the new blade has been position over the pilot projection 3120 and the blade body is in contact with the blade contacting surface 3030 of the hub, the counterweight 414 may be permitted to temporarily hang downwardly 8020 and freely pivot about the pivot pin 416 under the force of gravity, as shown in FIG. 8 , with blade omitted for clarity. This temporary position 8020 of the counterweight 414 provides a mechanism to temporarily hold the blade 344 in place, in a non-operational manner. The blade 344 may then be fixedly mounted to the hub 3110 using a plurality of bolts 5130 spaced evenly about a circumference of the mounting aperture 2020 of the blade 344, and where the plurality of bolts 5130 are displaced radially outwardly from a perimeter of the mounting aperture 2020.

Once the blade 355 has been securely bolted to the hub 3110, as shown in FIG. 9 , the rotatable counterweight 414 may be rotated from the first position 7010 to the second position 9010 by rotating the counterweight 414 in the clockwise direction about the pivot pin 416 until an outer wall 9030 of the counterweight 414 contacts a stop pin 7012, which projects from the hub surface 3030.

When the counterweight 414 is in the second position 9010 stopped in place by the stop pin 7012, a locking bolt 420 is inserted through a through bore 7030 in the counterweight 414, and the end of the locking bolt 4020 is received within a corresponding threaded aperture 6020 in the pilot projection 3120. In this position, the locking bolt 420 is tightened so as to “sandwich” the blade 344 between the contact surface 3030 of the hub and an inner surface of the counterweight 414. The locking bolt 420 may be completely removeable, or may be partially held in place by a grommet to avoid dropping or losing the locking bolt.

It is important to note that whether in the first position 7010 or in the second position 9010, the counterweight 414 is not detachable from the hub 3110, and always remains attached to the hub 3110, although rotatable relative thereto. Thus, removal and attachment of the blade 344 may be performed without the need to remove the counterweight 414. Accordingly, the counterweight 414 remains rotatably attached to the hub 3110 while the blade 344 is removed from the hub, and remains rotatably attached to the hub 3110 while the blade 344 is secured to the hub. This increases safety and convenience, while reducing the time required to change or service the blade 344.

The angular position of the counterweight 314 relative to the hub 3110, as dictated by placement of the locking bolt 420 determines the balancing effect of the counterweight 414 as the hub 3110 and blade 344 rotate. Due to the angular offset of the counterweight 314 relative to the axis of rotation, the center of mass of the counterweight 314 counterbalances the weight of the involute blade 344, as the weight of the involute blade is greater at one end than the other, due to its spiral shape.

In another embodiment, the hub 3110 may include cut-out areas 7040 where material is removed or has been omitted to provide further counterbalance and torque control of the hub 3110. As shown in the figures, one or more cutout portions 7040 may be formed in the body of the hub 3110 about a semicircular portion of the hub 7040, which is preferably located at a side of the hub away located from the counterweight. In this embodiment, because a predetermined of mass is removed from one portion of the hub which is countered by the counterbalance 414, the torque about the drive shaft is equalized to prevent wobble.

While a particular embodiment is illustrated in and described with respect to the drawings, it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. It will therefore be appreciated that the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims is not limited to the specific embodiment illustrated in and discussed with respect to the drawings and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure and appended drawings. Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain example combinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. 

What is claim is:
 1. A food slicing system having a main frame, the system comprising: an input conveyor configured to transport a food product for slicing; an output conveyor configured to receive thereon, sliced food product; a blade reciprocating assembly located between the input conveyor and the output conveyor; the blade reciprocating assembly further comprising: a support frame; a rotating cutting blade mounted to the support frame; a motor mounted on the support frame configured to operatively drive the cutting blade; a support shaft operatively coupled to the main frame at opposite ends thereof; the support shaft coupled to an upper portion of the support frame and configured to support the support frame and permit pivotal movement of the support frame about the support shaft and relative to the main frame; a drive shaft operatively coupled to the main frame and rotationally driven by an actuator; and a plurality of linkage elements configured to operatively couple the drive shaft to a lower portion of the support frame, wherein the linkage elements are configured to reciprocally move the blade reciprocating assembly between a slicing position and a clearance position, and wherein the support frame pivots about the support shaft during the reciprocal movement.
 2. The food slicing system according to claim 1, wherein when the blade reciprocating assembly is in the slicing position, a plane of the cutting blade is substantially co-planar with a cutting plane of the food product, and the cutting blade is configured to slice the food product; and wherein when the blade reciprocating assembly is in the clearance position, the plane of the cutting blade is disposed at a predetermined angle away from the cutting plane of the food product, and the cutting blade does not contact the food product.
 3. The food slicing system according to claim 1, wherein a gear box or reducer is operatively coupled between the drive shaft and the actuator.
 4. The food slicing system according to claim 3, wherein the gear box or reducer is a planetary gear arrangement and wherein the actuator is a servo motor.
 5. The food slicing system according to claim 3, wherein the gear box or reducer translates forward rotation and reverse rotation of the actuator into corresponding forward rotation and reverse rotation of the drive shaft, wherein rotation of the drive shaft is limited to a plus and minus 10 degree angular displacement.
 6. The food slicing system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of linkage elements comprise: a first linkage having first and second ends, the first end of the first linkage fixedly coupled to the drive shaft; a second linkage having first and second ends, the first end of the second linkage pivotally coupled to the lower portion of the support frame; and wherein the second end of the first linkage is pivotally coupled to the second end of the second linkage.
 7. The food slicing system according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of linkage elements include a first set of two linkages located at a leftward lateral portion of the drive shaft, and a second set of two linkages located at a rightward lateral portion of the drive shaft.
 8. The food slicing system of claim 1, wherein when the blade reciprocating assembly is in the clearance position, the plane of the cutting blade is disposed at an angle of between 2 degrees and 10 degrees away from the cutting plane of the food product.
 9. The food slicing system of claim 1, wherein when the blade reciprocating assembly is in the slicing position, the plane of the cutting blade is substantially co-planar with the cutting plane of the food product within a tolerance of between +0.50 degrees and −0.50 degrees.
 10. The food slicing system of claim 6, wherein an angle between the first linkage and the second linkage when the blade reciprocating assembly is in the slicing position differs from an angle between the first linkage and the second linkage when the blade reciprocating assembly is in the clearance position, in a range of between 4 degrees and 12 degrees.
 11. The food slicing system of claim 1, wherein the blade reciprocating assembly is moved from the slicing position to the clearance position after a sliced stack having a predetermined number of slices, is produced.
 12. A food slicing system comprising: a blade reciprocating assembly mounted to a main frame of the food slicing system; the blade reciprocating assembly further comprising: a support frame; a rotating cutting blade mounted to the support frame; a motor mounted on the support frame configured to operatively drive the cutting blade; a support shaft operatively coupled to the main frame at opposite ends thereof; the support shaft coupled to an upper portion of the support frame and configured to support the support frame and permit pivotal movement of the support frame about the support shaft and relative to the main frame; a drive shaft operatively coupled to the main frame and rotationally driven by an actuator; and a plurality of linkage elements configured to operatively couple the drive shaft to a lower portion of the support frame, wherein the linkage elements are configured to reciprocally move the blade reciprocating assembly between a slicing position and a clearance position, and wherein the support frame pivots about the support shaft during the reciprocal movement.
 13. The food slicing system according to claim 12, wherein when the blade reciprocating assembly is in the slicing position, a plane of the cutting blade is substantially co-planar with a cutting plane of the food product, and the cutting blade is configured to slice the food product; and wherein when the blade reciprocating assembly is in the clearance position, the plane of the cutting blade is disposed at a predetermined angle away from the cutting plane of the food product, and the cutting blade does not contact the food product.
 14. The food slicing system according to claim 12, wherein a gear box or reducer is operatively coupled between the drive shaft and the actuator.
 15. The food slicing system according to claim 14, wherein the gear box or reducer is a planetary gear arrangement and wherein the actuator is a servo motor.
 16. The food slicing system according to claim 14, wherein the gear box or reducer translates forward rotation and reverse rotation of the actuator into corresponding forward rotation and reverse rotation of the drive shaft, wherein rotation of the drive shaft is limited to a plus and minus 10 degree angular displacement.
 17. The food slicing system according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of linkage elements comprise: a first linkage having first and second ends, the first end of the first linkage fixedly coupled to the drive shaft; a second linkage having first and second ends, the first end of the second linkage pivotally coupled to the lower portion of the support frame; and wherein the second end of the first linkage is pivotally coupled to the second end of the second linkage.
 18. The food slicing system according to claim 17, wherein the plurality of linkage elements include a first set of two linkages located at a leftward lateral portion of the drive shaft, and a second set of two linkages located at a rightward lateral portion of the drive shaft.
 19. A the blade reciprocating assembly comprising: a support frame; a rotating cutting blade mounted to the support frame; a motor mounted on the support frame configured to operatively drive the cutting blade; a support shaft operatively coupled between main support arms or plates at opposite ends thereof; the support shaft coupled to an upper portion of the support frame and configured to support the support frame and permit pivotal movement of the support frame about the support shaft and relative to the main support arms; a drive shaft operatively coupled to the main support arms or plates and rotationally driven by an actuator; and a plurality of linkage elements configured to operatively couple the drive shaft to a lower portion of the support frame, wherein the linkage elements are configured to reciprocally move the blade reciprocating assembly between a slicing position and a clearance position, and wherein the support frame pivots about the support shaft during the reciprocal movement.
 20. The assembly according to claim 19, wherein the plurality of linkage elements comprise: a first linkage having first and second ends, the first end of the first linkage fixedly coupled to the drive shaft; a second linkage having first and second ends, the first end of the second linkage pivotally coupled to the lower portion of the support frame; and wherein the second end of the first linkage is pivotally coupled to the second end of the second linkage. 